Day: December 17, 2013

The New York Times recently commended John Podesta for joining President Obama’s team in the White House, with hopes that the former Clinton chief of staff can give a boost to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department. “His very presence,” stated the Times, “could influence Mr. Obama’s thinking on the proposed pipeline from Canada’s oil sands …”

“President Obama hasn’t been elected by the American people in order to be pleasant to Russia. And your humble servant hasn’t been elected by the people of Russia to be pleasant to someone either” — Vladimir Putin/CREDIT: martinfrost.ws

Podesta’s very presence could also give the GOP the ammo it needs to gunk up Obama’s best intentions, if it chooses to play a potentially risky card. And why wouldn’t they? This is the least risk-averse group of representatives since the U.S. Civil War; in a game of highway chicken, these guys don’t even leave skid marks, just shredded asphalt and twisted debris tinseled in the trees. In this case, of course, the wild card is Podesta’s outspoken and well-publicized advocacy for UFO disclosure. This is The Great Taboo, the elephant in the room, and of course the administration knows it. The Internet was sizzling with speculation and innuendo last week over the announcement, with the fringes encouraging Podesta to man up to his exhortations from 2002.

Assuming Podesta’s appointment is on the level — i.e., greenery only, no hidden agenda — Obama can be certain that neither the Times nor the Washington echo chamber will pose serious questions to him or Podesta about UFOs. Maybe a jokey little softball here or there, certainly nothing involving informed and sustained followups. But what about the foreign press corps? More specifically, what might Vladimir Putin do to put a wedgie on his American adversary?

On Dec. 9, like any insecure power-monger, the former KGB agent cleaned house with state-owned Ria Novosti and Voice Of Russia radio and announced he was rolling them into one giant machine called Russia Today. Although both entities were conceived during the Stalinist era, their recent independent impulses for covering real news were evidently too much for Putin’s version of democracy. And on Monday, proving they’re more plugged in to Podesta’s radioactive interests than the U.S. mainstream media is, Voice Of Russia led its Podesta appointment coverage with his stance on The Great Taboo, and sprinkled the story with quotes from his introduction to Leslie Kean’s 2010 New York Times bestseller UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go on the Record. VOR ended it this way:

“Obama, whose approval rating fell 5% in October to below 50%, may well consider releasing UFO files as a nice way to prop up his sagging popularity.”

Exactly how a sober conversation on UFOs might affect poll numbers is anyone’s guess. But this much is true: American media are a docile bunch when it comes to the Great Taboo; foreign press, on the other hand, is a question mark. Germany and France have media seats in the White House Press Corps, and of course there’s Al Jazeera. Who’ll be the first to ask the administration if Podesta will be allowed to walk the walk? If I were Putin — and I’m not (yet) — I’d get VOR credentialed and onto the firing line ASAP, just to watch the contortions.

Podesta is on solid ground in supporting Kean’s call for a modest government entity to cooperate with other countries already investigating UFOs. As the former counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote, “This new agency would handle the release of documents and any future investigations with openness and efficiency,” adding: “It is definitely time for government, scientists, and aviation experts to work together.”

Well yeah. And long overdue. Unfortunately, this makes too much sense for an intelligent Beltway dialogue, and Putin is smart enough to know that. And with another godawful election cycle about to puke oceans of money all over craven incumbents and aspiring sellouts alike, imagine the fate awaiting Obama’s point man on the environment. One awkward sound bite on UFOs, one Dennis Kucinich-type moment, and it’s Little Green Men 24/7, red meat for Fox News, Limbaugh, the usual suspects. One hopes the White House has a contingency plan on standby. The best plan would be to get out in front of it. But that’s not how things work around here.